Things I Love #4 - Salsa Dancing + Fountain Square + Nathalie Hayes + Orange Slushies
Have you been to Fountain Square in the summer? Oh man, it's a serious treat - and one of the things that makes Cincinnati in the summer so fantastic. Every night in the summer, they have a particular type of event. Most nights consist of a concert...various evenings of the week have various styles of bands. It's kinda nice as you can choose the type of music you'd like to hear and head down on that night. Sunday night has a bit of a different flavor as it is movie night. A movie is projected onto the big, huge screen that's up high in the sky. That's a fun night for sure. On of my favorite nights, however, is Thursday night Salsa dancing!
At Salsa on the Square there are dancers who teach you how to salsa from the stage. I so enjoy seeing the totally random crowd of people all standing in front of the stage, uninhibited, trying to salsa dance. The dancers go step by step, teaching us various moves to try. I marvel at the fun moves. I marvel at the teachers' great legs... After the lesson, the latin band comes up to play and everyone gets down to business trying to incorporate what has been learned. There is smiling. There is laughing. There is ridiculously bad talent, many who know a little, and a few people who actually know what they're doing. Regardless, it really seems that nobody cares. There are people of poverty. There are people of wealth...and everything in between. There are Black people, White people, Hispanic people, and I believe I've even seen Indian people. I consider this one of the most diverse events in our city...perhaps THE most diverse event. I love seeing all walks of life in the same space, smiling, dancing, trying something new, and enjoying a great summer evening with friends in this great city called Cincinnati. It's spectacular.
The last time I went was with Nathalie Hayes....so why did I add her to my list of what I love? First of all, I just love Nathalie...but beyond that, I was SO thrilled to see that I had come with a friend who seriously had no inhibition to trying salsa dancing. Because she was so willing and excited to do it, we had a total blast. Nathalie has such a great ability to throw caution to the wind and just go for it. I love that about her. We did some serious dancing and laughing - and burned some calories to boot.
In addition to our dancing, we found a little shop that had some slushie machines. Talk about Jackpot! We both got an orange slushie and then sat by the iconic fountain on the square - savoring the amazing summer treat on a hot night. And then...on to more dancing.
What a fun evening?! What incredible community event?! What a great place in our city?! This is why Salsa + Fountain Square + Nathalie Hayes + Slushies ended up on my list of things I love.
You really must go this summer!
www.myfountainsquare.com
